New music royalty rates may cost Apple

A pair of organizations representing music artists is pushing for the U.S. government to give the music industry more freedom in deciding what to charge for music, AppleInsider reports. In turn, streaming services like Apple's iTunes Radio and the newly acquired Beats Music could feel a bit of a pinch if rising prices leave too small a margin.

Royalties on music are going through some growing pains at the moment, and really ever since streaming music services became the norm. Many of the current standards have been in place for decades, and long before the idea of on-demand music was even conceivable. A reworking of the laws in place is probably a good thing on all fronts, but how it could affect current streaming services remains to be seen.